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"I got a hundred dollars to do a naked swan dive off the Balboa pier in December," recalls Aunt Bettys vocalist Michael Knott. "It would have been easier if I hadn't eaten three Burger King double cheeseburgers before I did it."
Knott's swan diving reference dates back to a time when he lived in a closet for three and a half years paying his hundred dollar a month rent by doing psycho dares. Besides the swan dive, Knott made rent money by running naked through a place called Rattlesnake Canyon, carrying a pair of panties in his mouth all day that had been found on the ground and doing dangerous acrobatics on the ledge of his apartment building. One time, Knott even went to Orange County's busiest intersection in his underwear and started running around in circles with a surfboard yelling, "Surf's Up! Surf's Up!", for which he was chased by a cop and his police hound. Knott laughs, "I'm glad I got away, because I couldn't imagine going to jail in my underwear."
As one might expect, Knott's band Aunt Bettys has established quite a reputation for itself. The band's stage prowess has remarkable levels of energy and chaos, which would be normal for a punk band. However, Aunt Bettys is actually a pop band that has more in common with the Rolling Stones than the Sex Pistols, which makes the band's performances all the more powerful.
Specifically, the Aunt Bettys' sound is a mix of acoustic and electric guitars incorporated to create huge swings in mood and tempo. The melodies are all strong and poppy, but everything is sprinkled with a Ziggy Stardust-era flamboyant glam feel. Knott's acoustic guitar playing adds a more serious, emotional aspect to the music, while guitars Andrew Carter has phenomenal seventies-style guitar sensibilities that make the songs instantly catchy. Likewise, bassist Brian Doidge and drummer Chuck Cummings lock in with each other very naturally to create a solid backbeat. Yet, it's still Knott's stage presence that takes Aunt Bettys' shows over the top.
In a previous band called Idle Lovell, Knott would cover himself in funky liquids such as tomato sauce or clam chowder while tearing unsuspecting teddy bears to shreds. Though Knott may include such antics in the future, for now he's relying on his voice, body and the acoustic guitar to accentuate what he sings.
Knott's more natural theatrics work better for Aunt Bettys because the lyrics themselves are powerful. Knott's lyrical reflections on life primarily revolve around a small dive bar called the Helm located right in the heart of Orange County. The bar is oddly enough the home to all the off-beat locals who despises the bright lights and fashion-conscious clubs that abound in O.C. The majority of Aunt Bettys' songs involve true stories that happened here.
For example, "The Lush" was written after a gorgeous girl took Knott's friend home from the bar, and when she took off her clothes, it was discovered that she was entirely covered in tattoos. She proceeded to tie Knott's friend down, beating him with a whip and going crazy. When she mellowed out, all she said was, "I'm the lush."
"Star Baby" is about a gorgeous girl who came into the bar, and said her father had been abducted by an alien, while her mother had been impregnated by a cute Martian. The girl said she had received a transmission from outer space during dinner. Her command was to kill a rock singer. Knott comments, "... and of course, everyone in the band pointed at me."
As off-the-wall as Knott seems, there's also a more heartfelt aspect to his music. The band's first single, "Jesus," opens itself up to an incredible amount of emotions, exploring the balance between naive optimism and the harsh reality that creates disillusionment. Knott begins the song as a soft, acoustic prayer asking Jesus why everything is so wrong in his life while he's trying so hard merely to survive. The song then gets more and more aggressive as it talks about painful experiences. The song ultimately breaks into a completely hard-core rage.
"The song gets violent at times," Knott confesses, "but that's what life is like. The song is not anti-religious. I believe in God, but my life has gotten screwed up somehow, and no matter what I believe, this is how it feels."
Rather than pop love ballads and "f*** you" anthems, Aunt Bettys tell real life stories in the tradition of Dylan, which favors having the listener experience the emotions involved, rather than simply having them described. For example, the song "Double" describes the day Knott's wife took him to church, and the pastor made a shocking announcement:
"Everyone loves to guess how well or not so well your band will do," Knott remarks. "It's hard to say, really. All I know is that I hope we do something, because I couldn't bear the idea of doing another swan dive!"
- Jeff Lorio